French school of the 19th century.

French school of the 19th century.
"Coastal landscape with boats and fishermen".
Oil on canvas.
In need of restoration.
Measurements: 97 x 126 cm; 113 x 141 cm (frame).

Port scene with a melancholic mood. A boat stranded on the shore is being repaired by a group of sailors. Behind it, a castle with a defensive tower stands out, its upper part covered with moss. A diffuse light envelops the marina with a gentle breeze, which gives the composition a dreamy cadence, similar to Claude Lorrain's coastal views. As in those of the French author, reality merges with the idealized. In the distance, a lighthouse is silhouetted next to the pier that extends into the bluish horizon, where the boats are lost in the mist. The surface of the sea absorbs the light in soft gradations, with faint golden glints suggesting the coming or setting of the day. It is not a stormy sea, but a serene, almost ethereal surface, inviting introspection, in the way Lorrain composed his harbor views, where nature and architecture are balanced in a classical harmony. Within 19th century French painting, this work could be placed in the tradition of the historical and romantic landscape, a legacy of Lorrain's academicism but with echoes of the nostalgic and evocative spirit of Romanticism. Artists such as Eugène Isabey worked along these lines, endowing his seascapes with a vibrant light and a sense of suspended time.